Concealed folding table

ABSTRACT

A concealed folding table is provided for mounting on a wall or other upright support. A fixed shelf section is mountable on a wall and has hinged along the bottom thereof a table section foldable flush against the front of the shelf section when closed in place. A leg section is hinged to the upper part of the table section and serves to support the table when open. The leg section nests within a cooperating frame on the table section when folded to give the appearance of a conventional framed picture or the like.

United States Patent 312/314X 108/33 108/33 l08/48X 108/48 3l2/314X m ym.S kommmm mmanme fa fl.w n BLDPSF 66723 22556 999999 111111 Ill/ll 82680 1 1 1 463458 650742 503605 9 3 50 Ill-.1223 m m o M mm 1 w mm m s n Mm m Mea -AT Q do m N mm H ln na e P e 1 AFPA 11.1.1 2 1:253 7 2247 .11.1.11

Bmdord Mass Primary Examiner-lames T. McCall Attorney-Mo'rse, Altman &Oates [54] CONCEALED FOLDING TABLE 2 Claims,4 Drawing Figs.

ABSTRACT: A concealed folding table is provided for mount- 312/314 ingon a wall or other upright support. A fixed shelf section is [51] Int.A47b 77/10 mountable on a wall and has hinged along the bottom h f [50]Field of 312/313, 3 table section f ld bl fl h against the f m f h h lftion when closed in place. A leg section is hinged to the upper part ofthe table section and serves to support the table when open. The legsection nests within a cooperating frame on the table section whenfolded to give the appearance of a conventional framed picture or thelike.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Des. 157,781 3/1950Pahlmann.........,...........

PATENTED M1831 Ian INVLNT OR BERNARD CAPUTO ATTORNEYS CONCEALED FOLDINGTABLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Thisinvention relates generally to furniture products and more particularlyis directed towards a concealed folding table mountable to a wall or thelike.

2. History of the Prior Art Various types of folding tables, desks, barsand the like have been available for many years. However, furniture ofthis type generally involves free standing floor consoles or built-inunits both of which generally are quite large and expensive and occupy aconsiderable amount of floor space. It is, therefore, an object of thepresent invention to provide. a low cost, compact wall-mounted foldingtable which, when closed, has its table characteristics concealed bynesting of the movable components into one another to present theappearance of a simple framed decoration such as a has-relief scene,painting or the like. Another object of this invention is to provide anew and improved folding table which provides firm support for the tablesection when. opened and includes shelves for storage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is aview in perspective of a foldingtable made according to the invention,in a closed and concealed condition,

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken alongthe line 2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of the FIG. 1 unit but in a partly opencondition, and, 7

FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation showing the table in a fully opencondition- DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referringnow to the drawings, the reference character 10 generally indicates aconcealedfolding table mountable on a wall 12 or other vertical supportand having the outward appearance of a conventional framed work of art14 which may be a painting, relief design or other decoration asdesired. The

table is formed with three major sections namely, a fixed'shelf section16, a hinged table section 18 and a hinged leg section 20, the-lower endof the table section 18 being hinged to the base of the shelf sectionand the upper end of the leg section 20 being hinged to the upper partof the table. section in the manner illustrated. The shelf section isfixed to the wall by any suitable hanging means and is'comprised ofrelatively shallow shelves 22 mounted-between the opposing sidewalls 24and 26 with top and bottom walls 28 and 30 completing the shelfstructure.

As shown best in FIG. 2 the table section 18is connected to the loweredge of the bottom wall 30 of the shelf section by means of hinges 32.The tablev section 18 is provided with a flat working surface 34 whichmay be covered with a protective laminated plastic stratum such' as thatsold under the trademark F ormica," for example-,.which material ishard, stain resistant, smooth and presents a tough, longwearing finish,Other materials obviously may be employed to advantage. The tablesection 18 is hinged to the cabinet section so as to closeflat againstthe front of the shelf section as shown in FIGS. 1

and 2 or to open at right angles thereto to present a horizontallyextending functionaltable as shown in FIG. 4. The table section is heldin a closed. position by any suitable latching means and for thispurpose amagnetic element 36 is fixed to the forward edge of the topwall 28 of the shelf section for locking action with a cooperatingferromagnetic insert 38 in the upper margin of the table section 18.

On the front or lower face of the table section 18 there is mounted amolding 40 forming the outer part of a frame and defining a shallowrecess 42 in the bottom or front face of the table section and intowhich the leg section 20 nests when the table is in a closed position(FIGS. 1 and 2). Preferably, the inner edge of the molding 40 is flatand perpendicular to the face of the table section and the frame definedby the molding 40 is so dimensioned that when the leg section 20 isnested within the recess 42 there will be very little clearance betweenthe inner edge or face of the molding 20 and the outer edge or face ofthe molding 44 mounted about the front marginal edges of the rectangularleg section 20. As shown best in FIG. 2 the moldings 40 and 44 aredesigned with longitudinal grooves in such a way that when the moldingsnest within one another they present the appearance of a single unitarymolding, thus giving to the unit the appearance of a conventional workof art as in FIG. 1.

The leg section 20 is comprised of a rectangular panel 46 to which themolding 44 is mounted and on the front face of which is applied thedesign 14 which may be an oil canvas, relief figurine, or any otherdesired decoration. The leg section 20 is connected at its upper cornersto the upper outer portion of the table section by means of concealedpivots 48 mounted on the inner face of the molding 40 so as to be hiddenfrom view. In practice, the leg section'20 is reinforced by means of afolding strut 50 extending diagonally between the table section and theleg section and adapted to fold into a cooperating recess 52 formed inthe inner edge of the molding 44 on the sideof the table section.

The folding table is used by mounting the fixed shelf section to thewall to a height at which the working surface of the table section willbe horizontal and with the leg section 20 bearing against the floor inthe manner shown in FIG. 4. The folding table provides a very neat,compact unit which may be readily opened or closed by merely swingingthe table section into or out of closed position, allowing the legsection to swing out by gravity and down for opening or folding back forclosing. When in a closed position the leg section nests neatly withinthe framed recess of the table section to be hidden from view and'topresent, on inspection, a conventional framedart work on the wall. Theunit takes up very little space, projecting out from the wall onlyseveral inches or so, and it may be conveniently mounted anywhere in aroom without interfering with passage through the room or with otherfurniture. The unit may be mounted above a buffet or low console, forexample, and may be opened without interfering with the furnitureunderneath.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to theillustrated embodiment, numerous modifications thereto will appear tothose skilled in the art. For example, the shelf section can be formedwith or without a rear wall. Also the shelf section maybe madetriangular for mounting the unit in the'corner of a room. Instead ofmounting the unit on a wall, it may be supported between a pair oftelescopic floor to ceiling poles and used as a room divider or thelike.

Having thus described the invention what I claim and desire to obtain byLetters Patent of the United States is:

1. A concealed folding table mountable to a vertical support and at aheight raised above afloor, comprising a. a fixed shelf section adaptedto be mounted to said vertical support, 1

b. a movable table section hinged on one side and along one end to thelower portion of said shelf section,

0. a solid and'substantially fiat movable leg section substantiallycoextensive with said table section and hinged at its upper end to theother endand opposite side of said table section.

D. said table section being at least coextensive with said shelf sectionto fully span said shelf section when folded thereagainst and includinghalf molding extending about the margins of said opposite side,

said table section molding defining a shallow recess on said oppositeside thereof and said leg section being of a thickness substantiallycorresponding to the depth of said recess,

. said leg section including half molding extending about the marginsthereof and dimensioned to nest within the

1. A concealed folding table mountable to a vertical support and at aheight raised above a floor, comprising a. a fixed shelf section adaptedto be mounted to said vertical support, b. a movable table sectionhinged on one side and along one end to the lower portion of said shelfsection, c. a solid and substantially flat movable leg sectionsubstantially coextensive with said table section and hinged at itsupper end to the other end and opposite side of said table section. D.said table section being at least coextensive with said shelf section tofully span said shelf section when folded thereagainst and includinghalf molding extending about the margins of said opposite side, e. saidtable section molding defining a shallow recess on said opposite sidethereof and said leg section being of a thickness substantiallycorresponding to the depth of said recess, f. said leg section includinghalf molding extending about the margins thereof and dimensioned to nestwithin the molding of said table section, said leg section moldingmating with said table section molding to present an apparent unitarymolding when nested, and, g. means for restraining said table section inclosed position flush against said shelf section.
 2. A concealed foldingtable according to claim 1 where said leg section is hinged to saidtable section within said recess.